Card 05
✊ ⚖️ 🚫 🕊️
When—if ever—is it right to break the law to protest injustice?
💭 How to Think About This
Rosa Parks broke the law. So did those at the Boston Tea Party. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 29 times. When does breaking the law become not just justified but morally required? What distinguishes civil disobedience from ordinary lawbreaking?
Is breaking unjust laws ever morally right?
🤔 Which thinking lens(es) did you use?
Select all the lenses you used:
👨👩👧 For Parents & Teachers
🌱 A Small Everyday Story
Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963:
"One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
King was called a troublemaker, agitator, criminal.
Arrested 29 times. Told to "wait" and use "proper channels."
Now: national holiday, hero status.
History's judgment often differs from contemporary opinion.
See more guidance →
Key concepts: Civil disobedience, Thoreau, Gandhi, MLK, just vs. unjust laws, nonviolent resistance.